Senate holds line on immigration bill

Conservatives cool to Bush remarks on border

By

WilliamL. Watts

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Senate rejected a call by conservative Republicans Tuesday to delay a guest-worker program until after U.S. borders are secured, marking a preliminary victory for President Bush in a tough election-year fight over the nation's immigration laws..

In a 40 to 55 vote, the chamber defeated an amendment offered by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., that would have put off the launch of a guest-worker program until after the Homeland Security Department certifies that the borders are secure.

The votes come a day after Bush delivered a prime-time speech in which he pledged to boost border-security efforts, but also insisted on the creation of a temporary-worker program.

The Senate bill would increase funds for border security, while also providing a path toward legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country.

If it clears the Senate, the bill would need to be reconciled with a House bill passed last year that would significantly tighten U.S. borders. The House bill makes no provisions for a guest-worker program and would brand persons in the country illegally as felons.

A majority of the Senate's Republican members, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, backed the amendment, but 18 GOP lawmakers joined with 35 Democrats and one independent to ensure its defeat. See how they voted.

Isakson argued that failure to first secure the borders would amount to a "wink and a nod" that would encourage millions of additional illegal immigrants to attempt to enter the United States.

Opponents of the amendment said that the lack of a temporary-worker program has exacerbated the immigration problem.

"We've tried 'enforcement first' for the last 12 years, and it has failed because our immigration system has not kept pace with growing demand for legal visas. We must modernize our immigration system to secure the border. These are intimately connected tasks, and they cannot be accomplished sequentially," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

The Senate then passed an alternative amendment offered by Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., that would allow the implementation of a guest-worker program if the president declares that such a move would enhance national security.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he Bush's speech in part, but said the president needs to lean on Senate Republican leaders and to speak out against the House bill.

"Every one of the Republican leaders in the United States Senate voted for [the Isakson amendment] ... The president needs to talk to his own leaders here if he wants comprehensive immigration reform," Reid told reporters.

Bush, in his address from the Oval Office Monday night, announced that he would tap thousands of National Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexican border. The president called for a total of $1.9 billion in enhanced border-security measures, including the hiring of an additional 6,000 border-patrol agents. See full story.

Bush also asked for the development of a tamperproof identification card for legal workers. Such a move would leave employers with no excuse for violating immigration laws, he said.

The move was described by critics as an effort to appease conservatives who remain sharply opposed to Bush's call for a guest-worker program. Conservative House Republicans applauded the decision to utilize the Guard, but remained opposed to any measure that would put workers already in the nation illegally on a path toward citizenship.

Criticism from party

"I am very concerned that what we will get, if we were to pass the president's plan, is a modicum of enforcement and a whole bunch of amnesty," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo, told Fox News on Tuesday morning.

In a joint news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Bush accused conservative critics of seeking the unrealistic deportation of millions of illegal residents already in the country.

'I am very concerned that what we will get, if we were to pass the president's plan, is a modicum of enforcement and a whole bunch of amnesty.'
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.

"It's unrealistic. It may sound attractive to some. You can't deport people who have been in this country for a long period of time, millions of people that have been here. And so we've got to be rational about how we move forward," he said.

Opponents of a guest-worker plan say that they're not calling for mass deportations. They argue, however, that tougher enforcement of immigration laws, including a crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers, would leave many illegal immigrants with little choice but to leave the country.

"Just as we didn't get into this problem overnight, we know it's not going to be solved overnight, but people respond to laws being enforced. And I believe the law should deal with illegal immigrants in a humane fashion, but you cannot excuse or dismiss the law with a nudge and a wink," Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told CNN.

Under the Senate bill, immigrants who have been in the United States for five years would have to meet a range of additional criteria, including proof that they've held jobs for three years, payment of a $2,000 fine and all federal and state taxes, as well a demonstrated knowledge of English language. They would also have to work for an additional six years to ensure they don't jump ahead of foreign citizens already pursuing a legal path to residency.

Those who have been in the United States for two to five years would be allowed to gain temporary work visas only after temporarily exiting the country and returning through one of 19 ports of entry.

Illegal immigrants who have been in the country less than two years would be allowed to apply for a temporary work visa only after returning to their home country.

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